Parents Read The House of Hades
by TheBookCritic
Summary: Have you ever wondered what must be happening to the Chase and Bolfis family while Percebeth was in Tartarus? If you have then read ahead. Contains both the families reading the Percy and Annabeth chapters in the House of Hades.
1. The Chase household

**Hey, and a big thank you to anyone who is/has reading/read my story I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed typing/ writing it… for you. **

**I solemnly swear I will never abandon my story, until the very end and please note that this fic only covers the Tartarus chapters in HoH.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Percy Jackson and co. Rick Riordan does. **

The Chase house hold was absolute chaos, there were Nintendo controllers left on upon the carpet, and the T.V was playing Sponge Bob Square Pants on full volume,

The twins were chasing each other fighting about who had led their school soccer team to a nail biting victory by only one goal.

"I scored the last goal", Bobby yelled at the top of his lungs.

"But you couldn't have done it if I hadn't passed you the ball", his brother Matthew retorted.

"At least I'm better in running than you'll ever be"

"No I'm better"

"No way, I am a thousand times better than you"

"I am"

"No it's me", "Keep it down you two or I won't take you out for ice creams" their mother Helen Chase said, trying and succeeding to stop the feud that the small quarrel could lead to.

"Can we get a cheese burger after that?"

"Maybe, but only if the both of you behave"

With a final 'Yes' and a high five both the boys left to change out of their sweaty soccer jerseys. Shaking her head at the little devils, Helen left to find her husband Fredrick who had to catch a flight to Chicago in less than 2 hours; Fredrick had started jumping off the walls like a little boy, when he was giving the opportunity of hosting the seminar.

Speaking of which, " Honey are all your bags packed, Oh… and did you collect you suit from the dry cleaners", "Fredrick, answer me. I swear ever since Annabeth's little visit you haven't been your self, Fredrick are you coming, we're already late we have to go. That's it I'm coming up now"

Helen Mary Chase had seen her husband through various emotions. She had seen him unable to contain his joy when Bobby and Matthew were born; she had seen him absolutely thrilled when his research had been praised and acknowledge by many scholars and intellectuals, she had seen his baffled when she told him she was pregnant, but she had never in her lifetime seen him like this.

Her husband looked devastated and broken, at the moment he looked like he hated himself, there were tears shining in his eyes threatening to fall. He looked like he wanted to curl up and sob, and in this state it was fit to say that he needed a shoulder to cry upon.

Next to him, Helen saw a light shimmer behind her husband's work desk, probably an Iris- uh.. What was it called? She couldn't remember it anyway, it was fine seeing that getting involved in her step-daughter and her world of gods and monsters wasn't exactly Helen's idea of a perfect life, and she preferred staying as far away as possible from it.

"Is that you Mrs. Chase?" A man in a wheel chair questioned,

"What Happened? Is Annabeth alright? Is she alive?" Helen wasn't a big fan of her stepdaughter but she would hate for Annabeth to die.

"No, but the situation Percy and Annabeth are in- isn't exactly very good"

"What do you mean by not very good, Where's Annabeth"

"In hell Mrs. Chase the children are in Hell" The man and his words were just confusing her, and her husband's quite sobs weren't exactly helping her concentrate.

"Hell? How can that even be possible?" How could the kids be in hell and upon asking the man had denied that they were dead?

"Tartarus madam, it's called Tartarus, it means hell in Greek, the Gods have prevented me from sharing this with you, but this comes from Lord Poseidon directly he wants your family to travel to New York and meet up with Sally Blofis- Percy's mother. He has a special package waiting for you"

"Thank you Chiron we'll be arriving in New York shortly till then can I have Mrs. Blofis's address" Fredrick said surprising his wife and the trainer his daughter considered more of a father than him.

"Helen tell the kids to go pack their bags, we're going to New York" He said monotonously. After seeing him in his previous state she could do nothing more then agree to anything her husband said.

Line break

After a very long flight Sally Bolfis's house was giving them many problems for one it was being incredibly hard to locate. But calling her up and asking her husband Paul to give them direction sure did help.

Right now both the families and not to mention two very tired boys were sitting on the couch of Mrs. Bolfis's three bedroom apartment. As soon as they had arrived, Mrs. Bolfis had introduced herself as Sally and had insisted that they call her just that.

Directly in front of them lay a package that none of them had dared to unwrap, but Sally Bolfis wasn't going to waste any more time she had suggested that they open the box and see what was inside.

Once the box was opened, the families found a book with a plain cover, "Can I read first Sally" asked Fredrick.

**I really hope you like it just to clarify, this is a story where Percy and Annabeth's families read the Tartarus chapters (Percy's and Annie's chapters) while the both of them are in the dreaded pit. **


	2. Annabeth I

_Hi guys, I'm seriously overwhelmed by the response I've received, Thanks a bunch for all yours reviews, follows and favorites _

_Now for the important matter- I think I'd update once in 2 weeks or earlier than that….._

_Please note everything in bold is owned by Rick Riordan. _

_**Disclaimer- Percy Jackson and co. is owned by Rick Riordan. Not me**_

* * *

**ANNABETH **Fredrick read his daughter's name, after so many hours of blaming himself for how he ignored her before she ran away from home when she was just seven, losing her like that had made him realize as a father he was responsible for another life, most importantly the life of his little Annabeth.

But this incident or this message that he had gotten by Chiron made him realize if he had the chance again he would do anything he could, to spend a little time with his daughter. He would do anything at this moment to tell her that she is loved and that he's so, so sorry for not being a father when she needed him the most.

**NINE DAYS. **

**As she fell, Annabeth thought about Hesiod, the old Greek poet who'd speculated it would take nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus.**

"Whoa, imagine the size of that pit", Bobby whispered to his twin.

**She hoped Hesiod was wrong. She'd lost track of how long she and Percy had been falling—hours? A day? It felt like an eternity.**

Helen, who was abnormally quite the whole time, wondered that although at that age of seven Annabeth had almost put the twins' life in danger because of a hellhound attack, but if Helen would have believed Annabeth's story about the spiders, they would have been at better terms.

Helen had tried to mend their relationship, a lot of times but at the age of twelve when Annabeth came back home for the first time, she was so close off from others, didn't talk if not asked something and Annabeth was a lot more guarded than before, it was like there was a wall around her. And Helen and Annabeth both had knew that the both of them couldn't open up to each other unless these walls tumbled down.

**They'd been holding hands ever since they dropped into the chasm.**

Sally Bolfis let a sigh of relieve escape her 'they' meant Percy and Annabeth and if Annabeth was alright than so was Percy.

**Now Percy pulled her close, hugging her tight as they tumbled through absolute darkness.**

"Oh, those two", Paul said remembering the scene. Exactly nine months ago, Annabeth had come over to help Percy study for a test, but when it was time for her to return Percy pulled her in his arms hadn't let her go, she did protest and hit him although it bore no effect on him as at that time Percy was invincible.

But Sally and Paul could see through her half hearted protests so; they simply allowed her to stay the night at the Bolfis residence. And what a night it was, the four of them had stayed up late playing Monopoly which of course was won by the daughter of Athena.

**Wind whistled in Annabeth's ears. The air grew hotter and damper, as if they were plummeting into the throat of a massive dragon. Her recently broken ankle throbbed, though she couldn't tell if it was still wrapped in spider webs.**

"Spider webs, but isn't Annabeth deadly afraid of spiders", Helen said

"Yeah, she is, Sally do you remember that time when she saw this tiny little spider on the kitchen counter and freaked out, and Fredrick by freaked out I mean really freaked out, her eyes rolled back and she fainted. And Percy carried her bridal style to the couch, and then sprinkled a few drops of water on her, while I and Sally watched with our mouths open"

"Believe me we had every right to, we've seen her battle monsters, handle an army of demigods and many other incredible things but seeing her so scared over such a tiny creature, really shocked us".

**That cursed monster Arachne.**

"If I'm not wrong wasn't Arachne turned into a spider" Helen inquired.

"Yeah, she was, Arachne is said to be the mother of all spiders, well it all happened when she challenged Athena to a contest to decide who was the best weaver in the world. At this Athena felt insulted as Arachne was a ordinary mortal therefore she cursed Arachne to become a spider", Sally explained.

**Despite having been trapped in her own webbing, smashed by a car, and plunged into Tartarus, the spider lady had gotten her revenge. Somehow her silk had entangled Annabeth's leg and dragged her over the side of the pit, with Percy in tow.**

"I want to strangle that monster, myself. Our kids are going through literal hell right now just because of that wrenched monster". Paul said.

"So, we have Athena to thank for that monster" Helen added

"What do you mean?" Fredrick asked defending the woman he once loved

"I think we should continue reading, I'm getting anxious to know what happens next" Sally said urging them to start reading. Her gaze met that of the twins, they seemed to be thanking her from preventing an argument between their parents.

**Annabeth couldn't imagine that Arachne was still alive, somewhere below them in the darkness. She didn't want to meet that monster again when they reached the bottom.**

"She's been smashed by a car, I really don't think she'll be able to survive that" Matthew said

"Lets hope she hasn't survived it", his brother Bobby replied.

**On the bright side, assuming there was a bottom, Annabeth and Percy would probably be flattened on impact, so giant spiders were the least of their worries.**

**She wrapped her arms around Percy and tried not to sob. She'd never expected her life to be easy. Most demigods died young at the hands of terrible monsters. That was the way it had been since ancient times.**

"Oh… god, I really hope she's alright" Helen whispered to herself, She had always thought that Annabeth was a troublemaker who did everything for attention, but this fate bestowed upon a 16 year old, that was just cruel.

**The Greeks invented tragedy. They knew the greatest heroes didn't get happy endings.**

"I hate the Greeks" Bobby joked, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.

**Still, this wasn't fair. She'd gone through so much to retrieve that statue of Athena. Just when she'd succeeded, when things had been looking up and she'd been reunited with Percy, they had plunged to their****deaths****.**

**Even the gods couldn't devise a fate so twisted.**

"But these aren't the god, Annabeth. This is Gaea, and she's older, and not to mention more evil" Sally said, in a failed attempt to console herself.

**But Gaea wasn't like other gods. The Earth Mother was older, more vicious, more bloodthirsty. Annabeth could imagine her laughing as they fell into the depths.**

**Annabeth pressed her lips to Percy's ear. "I love you."**

Everyone present in the room had different reactions-

"Yuck, Annie is being all lovey-dovey" Matthew sniggered,

"At least Percy is there to protect and comfort her" Fredrick though feeling a spark of hope because of the very boy who had traveled across the country to save his daughter from the clutches of an evil titan.

Sally who was used to their mushy-ness was relieved to know that no matter where they are their love for each other will never change.

And Helen who had never heard the details of her step-daughters love life was surprised to find out that Percy and Annabeth were so serious. Dating was one thing but straight out admitting you loved a person was different.

Especially with Annabeth, she was the type of girl who would secretly care for you but would never admit it to your face.

**She wasn't sure he could hear her—but if they were going to die she wanted those to be her last words.**

**She tried desperately to think of a plan to save them. She was a daughter of Athena. She'd proven herself in the tunnels under Rome, beaten a whole series of challenges with only her wits. But she couldn't think of any way to reverse or even slow their fall.**

This again brought down the sprits of both the families, it seemed as if they just realized that even though the above declaration of love had somewhat uplifted their spirits, it could not change the situation both the children were stuck in.

**Neither of them had the power to fly—not like Jason, who could control the wind,**

"Fly," exclaimed Bobby,

"That's so awesome, I wish I could fly" said Matthew

"I'd be better than you at flying, I just know it" Bobby replied

"Nuh uh"

"Uh huh"

"Nuh uh"

"Uh- !"

"Boys please settle down." Helen ordered, and they obliged

**or****Frank****, who could turn into a winged animal. **

"That is so cool," "I wish I was a demigod with awesome powers" the twins yelled, while the adults rolled their eyes at their childishness – but they're children what could one expect form such immature little creatures.

**If they reached the bottom at terminal velocity…well, she knew enough science to know it would be terminal.**

The twins who didn't know or perhaps didn't understand what 'terminal' meant, looked blank, and then started bugging their parents to explain what it meant. And their conversation went somewhat like this-

"Mom, what does terminal mean?'"

"Yeah, and mom what does velocity mean?"

"Boys I'll explain later"

"But we wanna know now", both of them whined

"I said later", that and one glance from Helen shut them up for good.

**She was seriously wondering whether they could fashion a parachute out of their shirts—**

"That's so very desperate" Paul muttered

**that's how desperate she was**

Bobby smiled a little, having overheard Paul's last comment.

—**when something about their surroundings changed. The darkness took on a gray-red tinge.**

"Oh god, they're nearing the bottom" Sally whispered, which made every one much more agitated to know what happens next.

**She realized she could see Percy's hair as she hugged him. The whistling in her ears turned into more of a roar. The air became intolerably hot, permeated with a smell like rotten eggs.**

**Suddenly, the chute they'd been ****falling ****through opened into a vast cavern.**

Everyone was silent listening eagerly, even the twins were not fidgeting or moving.

**Maybe half a mile below them, Annabeth could see the bottom. For a moment she was too stunned to think properly.**

"I think anybody in her position would be too" Paul muttered

**The entire island of Manhattan could have fit inside this cavern**

'WOW, imagine the sheer size of the place' was the only thing on every ones mind.

—**and she couldn't even see its full extent.**

"Must be huge" Matthew breathed.

**Red clouds hung in the air like vaporized blood.**

"Is it really vaporized blood?" the twins asked. The adults barely shook their heads and carried on reading.

**The landscape—at least what she could see of it—was rocky black plains, punctuated by jagged mountains and fiery chasms.**

It was so silent you could hear a pin drop, every one even the hyperactive twins were trying to imagine Tartarus.

**To Annabeth's left, the ground dropped off in a series of cliffs, like colossal steps leading deeper into the abyss.**

Everyone was trying to absorb the details and accurately picture the horrible place.

**The stench of sulfur made it hard to concentrate, but she focused on the ground directly below them and saw a ribbon of glittering black liquid—a river.**

"That's good right? Percy can control water" Paul asked Sally.

"Yes, but I'm not so sure bout this, Percy can control and manipulate water but the rivers of the underworld are very dangerous, they can wipe your memories off if you touch a drop, or instantly kill you" Sally's reply, had left every one on the edge of their seats eager to hear what happened next.

"**Percy!" she yelled in his ear. "Water!"**

**She gestured frantically. Percy's face was hard to read in the dim red light. He looked shell-shocked and terrified, but he nodded as if he understood.**

"Probably didn't understand what she was trying to say" Sally said, lost in the memories of her son.

**Percy could control water—assuming that was water below them. He might be able to cushion their fall somehow. Of course Annabeth had heard horrible stories about the rivers of the Underworld. They could take away your memories, or burn your body and soul to ashes. But she decided not to think about that.**

"That's a good idea" Fredrick said, praying that somehow his daughter survive the horrors Tartarus had to offer.

**This was their only chance.**

"Yeah, it is, god forbid if they don't make it…" Helen continued dully.

**The river hurtled toward them. At the last second, Percy yelled defiantly. The water erupted in a massive geyser and swallowed them whole.**

"My baby" Sally cried out

"Annabeth" was all Fredrick could manage to get out.

"Annie!" the twins yelled, impatient to know more…

_**I really hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter, because I'm planning on bringing in Thalia because she's like an older sister to Annie and I think she deserves to know too. Please answer in form of reviews and let me know your opinion. **_


	3. Annabeth II

_**Hey Guys I'm so sorry for the very (very) late update, but I swear the other chapters will be updated regularly. A big 'Thank You' to anyone who followed, and reviewed.**_

_**And as promised, let's welcome Thalia Grace, the sarcastic, sassy, immortal hunter of Artemis. But before that-**_

_**Shout outs to: **__**Forever-Fangirl-PJO-HP, Princess Of Flames,**__**Pjbooksrock, **__**Pimi-the-cat, Tom Marvolo Riddle 2, Mathematical-candy-panda, humbid123, lunatica2012, PJoHoOFan, Dan Son of Poseidon, Purrskitty, Fanfoctionlover12k, LaLunaSole, MapleMischief, Sassmaster-skywalker, thealphamale. **_

_**Now how could I forget this one- A huge shout out my very good friend Stads02 for being awesome and helping me out with amazing advice all the time. **_

_**Also guys there's a poll on my profile and I'd love it if you could cast a vote I really want to know your views :D **_

_**Disclaimer- I don't own PJO Uncle Rick cause if I did it would be Percebeth not Percedeath.**_

* * *

The anxious families were about to read the next chapter when the doorbell rang, Sally opened the door, surprised because instead of the delivery boy who was supposed to arrive with pizza for the hungry twins…

She found Thalia Grace at her doorstep- Now Sally Jackson had met Thalia just two times after which Percy had told her that she had become an immortal follower of Artemis.

Thalia never had much experience around adults or rather parents in general, it was mainly because of the fact that her own mother had been a drunk who didn't exactly care for her, but Percy's mom wasn't like that from what she had heard from Annie, Sally Jackson was a good parent unlike Zeus or her own mother, she actually cared a lot for her son, so much that she had been kidnapped and almost killed to get him to safety of camp Half-Blood.

And that had instilled respect for Sally and got her into Thalia's good books.

"Um… Hi Mrs. Jackson" Way to go girl, what a wonderful was to start a conversation with a lady whose son is in hell and you have to give the news, her conscience barked at her.

"Hello Thalia, come in dear"

"Mrs. Jackson I have to tell you something", she swallowed then continued "something about Percy and Annabeth"

"What about them Thalia, are you here to tell me that they're in Tartarus, then you don't need to because I already know"

Thalia was baffled because Chiron had assigned her the responsibility of breaking the news to Sally, but she already knew?

"Come in Thalia make yourself at home there's something that I think you need to see"

* * *

**THE IMPACT DIDN'T KILL HER BUT THE COLD NEARLY DID **

Thalia couldn't register the words as she was too busy glaring at the family who made her little Annie feel so unwanted she ran away from home.

Meanwhile Fredrick Chase couldn't phantom why the Goth girl in front of him who he admitted to himself, was pretty scary looked at him like he was responsible for everything his daughter was going through. He vaguely remembered meeting her once before.

A faint memory regarding the girl came up- which led him to recognize her as one of the girls who was with Percy when he came to rescue Annabeth from the clutches of the Titans.

**Freezing water shocked the air right out of her lungs. Her limbs turned rigid, and she lost her grip on Percy.**

Read an anxious Sally Jackson who desperately wanted to know more about her only son.

**She began to sink. Strange wailing sounds filled her ears—millions of heartbroken voices, as if the river were made of distilled sadness.**

"Heartbroken voices" Bobby repeated

"Hey, Matt I bet you I can act more heartbroken than you" saying this an over energetic eleven year old began to put the awesome plan made by him and his twin in to action.

And then all of a sudden the twins stood in the middle of the room and asked all the adults and immortals or rather the immortal girl to be judges of their display of heartbrokenness.

Thalia who was first irritated then annoyed had a sudden change of mood as the twins continued their hilarious display.

Paul who was starting to catch up on their plan to lighten up the mood joined in and contributed quite a lot.

After having a good laugh Sally Bolfis with a shock realized that this was the first time after son's disappearance that someone had laughed in her apartment.

** The voices were worse than the cold. They weighed her down and made her numb. **

Sally continued

**What's the point of struggling? they told her. You're dead anyway. You'll never leave this place.**

"Yes, you will Annie, because even though we don't see you a lot, we miss you and love" Bobby said

"Yeah and also because annoying you is a lot of fun" Matthew continued

**She could sink to the bottom and drown, let the river carry her body away. That would be easier. She could just close her eyes.…**

"No come on Annabeth, you're a strong girl find you strength" Helen said to everyone's surprise

**Percy gripped her hand and jolted her back to reality. She couldn't see him in the murky water, but suddenly she didn't want to die. Together they kicked upward and broke the surface. **

"Looks like her strength just found her" Fredrick said referring to Percy

**Annabeth gasped, grateful for the air, no matter how sulfurous. The water swirled around them, and she realized Percy was creating a whirlpool to buoy them up. **

"Awesome Percy can create whirlpools"

"No fair I want to be able to create whirlpools" exclaimed the twins

**Though she couldn't make out their surroundings, she knew this was a river. Rivers had shores.**

"**Land," she croaked. "Go sideways."**

"They found land that's good right" Paul asked

"I don't know, its hell and I really don't know what to expect" Sally said

"But Percy's a son of Poseidon so shouldn't he be more strong in water than on land?" questioned Helen

**Percy looked near dead with exhaustion. Usually water reinvigorated him, but not this water. Controlling it must have taken every bit of his strength. The whirlpool began to dissipate.**

"Oh… even though it's a river how could I forget it's a river that flows in hell" Sally moaned

**Annabeth hooked one arm around his waist and struggled across the current.**

"Thank heavens for Annabeth" Paul said aloud expressing the thoughts flowing around Sally's brain

**The river worked against her: thousands of weeping voices whispering in her ears, getting inside her****brain****.**

**Life is despair, they said. Everything is pointless, and then you die.**

"No it's not Annie, fight for a future you can have kiddo, fight for me, fight for Luke fight for our family Annabeth fight for kelp head. But just don't stop fighting" Thalia yelled. Now she had said this in her head and not intended it to be public.

But unfortunately for her everyone had heard the very loud statement.

Although to say something this struck a chord with Fredrick Chase as he realized how little he knew about the past and future of his runaway daughter.

"**Pointless," Percy murmured. His teeth chattered from the cold. He stopped swimming and began to sink.**

"No Percy, please keep on swimming" Paul said as his wife was unable to utter a word due to the pain she was going through.

Paul had always found the myths and gods and all kind of history interesting even before he found the truth about the existence of the Greek gods and their offspring. But if this was the cruel way the fates were punishing an innocent woman he would have none of it.

The worst torture one could put a mother through is to hurt her children but in the case of Sally Bolfis her son had be kidnapped devoid of his memories, to be found later by his girlfriend but at the very moment fall onto hell with her.

"**Percy!" she shrieked. "The river is messing with your mind. It's the Cocytus—the River of Lamentation. It's made of pure misery!"**

"**Misery," he agreed. **

"Misery" agreed Thalia, and why not, Seaweed Brain just found the perfect word to describe the feelings of everyone in this very room as they realized that this could be the last breath taken by their kids.

"**Fight it!" **

"Come on Percy listen to Annabeth" Sally whispered

**She kicked and struggled, trying to keep both of them afloat. Another cosmic joke for Gaea to laugh at: Annabeth dies trying to keep her boyfriend, the son of Poseidon, from drowning.**

Thalia and the rest cracked up and with a jolt Bobby realized that this was the first time the scary girl AKA. Thalia had smiled or for that matter it was the first time since they had started to read that the frown left her face.

**Not going to happen, you hag, Annabeth thought.**

"That's the sprit Annie" Thalia said

"And believe me after I have a go with her she's going to wish that she was never born, because no one can ever mess with my family and get away with it" She continued

**She hugged Percy tighter and kissed him. "Tell me about New Rome," she demanded. "What were your plans for us?"**

"Oh yuck Annie's become all mushy and lovey dovey again" Thalia and the twins' thoughts mirrored each other

"Plans, what plans? Plans for us- they better be good plans" Fredrick thought going into overprotective father mode

"My baby has plans for his future with Annabeth" thought a very surprised Sally Bolfis, because the only plans Percy was good at making or rather made an effort to make were battle plans.

"**New Rome…For us…"**

"Rome, is she planning on leaving us here and going to Rome" Fredrick Chase questioned albeit knowing little to nothing about the city made for demigods

"**Yeah, Seaweed****Brain. You said we could have a future there! Tell me!"**

"A future huh, I want to know about these future plans of theirs" Fredrick grumbled

"Honey you can question all their plans after they return, now let Sally continue reading" Helen advised

**Annabeth had never wanted to leave Camp Half-Blood. It was the only****real home****she'd ever known. But days ago, on the Argo II, Percy had told her that he imagined a future for the two of them among the Roman demigods. **

"But aren't the Roman supposed to hate the Greeks" Helen inquired

"Yeah the campers and demigods are preparing for war against Camp Jupiter although we in any circumstances will not be the first to attack" Thalia answered

"Oh" Helen said on the mention of war and bloodshed and then shut up.

"War! Can we join" Matthew asked

"I'm sure we'd make good soldiers" Bobby continued

"Yeah and if we're good at it can I join the U.S army mom?" Bobby inquired

"But even I want to join the army" Matthew retorted

"Right now none of you are joining any army, it's bad enough that I have one child fighting for her life" Fredrick said and seeing his bad mood Sally started reading again.

**In their city of New Rome, veterans of the legion could settle down safely, go to college, get married, even have kids.**

"Kids! He wants to have kids with my daughter" Fredrick boomed clearly angry. And while the rest just snickered.

Sally tried controlling the situation "I'm sure he didn't mean it like that Mr. Chase"

"Yeah I'm sure Annie doesn't want babies yet, so, can we continue reading" Thalia said gesturing towards the book and trying and failing miserably to hide her chuckles by coughing.

"**Architecture," Percy murmured. The fog started to clear from his eyes. "Thought you'd like the houses,****the parks****. There's one street with all these cool fountains."**

"Of course that's another way of getting Annabeth excited, talking about architecture" Paul said

"She likes architecture" Helen asked

"Yeah she once told me that she wants to become the world's best architect when she grows up" Sally said

"Although she doesn't have to wait till she grows up, my Annie is the official architect of Olympus, and she planed the whole rebuilding of cabins at camp" Thalia added

**Annabeth started making progress against the current. Her limbs felt like bags of wet sand, but Percy was helping her now. She could see the dark line of the shore about a stone's throw away.**

"Hey Matt, do you think we'll see some awesome monster fighting action" Bobby asked. And was shushed by his mother

"**College," she gasped. "Could we go there together?"**

"**Y-yeah," he agreed, a little more confidently.**

"When Percy was young I thought I'd never see the day he would get into college, but that was mainly because he was more into staying alive than studying" Sally blurted out

"Yeah if there was on person who could get Percy to study it would be Annabeth, when she explains something or help him with math, that's like the only time when he actually concentrates" Paul continued

"**What would you study, Percy?"**

"**Dunno," he admitted.**

"**Marine science," she suggested. "Oceanography?"**

"**Surfing?" he asked.**

At this every one cracked up laughing. Sally chuckled and then Thalia said in between laughs "Really he wants to study surfing, why am I not surprised"

"Let's get back to reading" Fredrick suggested

**She laughed, and the sound sent a shock wave through the water. The wailing faded to background noise. Annabeth wondered if anyone had ever laughed in Tartarus before—just a pure, simple laugh of pleasure. She doubted it.**

The above line took their newly elevated sprits to a rock bottom as both the families and immortal huntress realized that even though Percy and Annabeth didn't lose their sense of humor they were still stuck in literal hell.

**She used the last of her strength to reach the riverbank. Her feet dug into the sandy bottom. She and Percy hauled themselves ashore, shivering and gasping, and collapsed on the dark sand.**

Thalia who was feverishly praying to anyone who would listen was more than worried, the two people in hell at the moment were Percy and Annabeth who were her family, Percy was her cousin albeit annoying at times Thalia considered him a good friend and Percy had always reminded her of Jason, before she had found her lost baby brother.

But Annabeth was the only keepsake of Luke she had, the only reminder of the moments and memories shared between them. And she couldn't lose her.

**Annabeth wanted to curl up next to Percy and go to sleep. She wanted to shut her eyes, hope all of this was just a bad dream, and wake up to find herself back on the Argo II, safe with her friends (well…as safe as a demigod can ever be).**

"Don't we all" Sally whispered while Paul was trying to comfort her, how do you comfort a person who just lost or may lose someone they to the evil in the world?

**But, no. They were really in Tartarus. At their feet, the River Cocytus roared past, a flood of liquid wretchedness. The sulfurous air stung Annabeth's lungs and prickled her skin. When she looked at her arms, she saw they were already covered with an angry rash. She tried to sit up and gasped in pain.**

"Sulfurous air, misery and monsters" Helen said aloud cursing herself for not being a little more understanding and comforting to the young demigod. She didn't know how wrong she was when she had though that all demigods we're freaks of nature with superpowers and a knack for trouble.

**The beach wasn't sand. They were sitting on a field of jagged black-glass chips, some of which were now embedded in Annabeth's palms.**

"Broken glass chips" Bobby gasped remembering when he had accidently cut himself with a broken glass

"Now that's going to hurt" Matthew said

"Will you both keep it down and Sally please continue reading" An agitated Thalia barked

**So the air was acid. The water was misery. The ground was broken glass. Everything here was designed to hurt and kill. Annabeth took a rattling breath and wondered if the voices in the Cocytus were right. Maybe fighting for ****survival****was pointless. They would be dead within the hour.**

"Come on Annie your that super smart mind of yours and do something, I know you can get out of there" Thalia whispered

**Next to her, Percy coughed. "This place smells like my ex-stepfather."**

Sally let out a breath and said "no matter what the situation he can lighten the mood"

This left everyone in the including Paul who had been warned about what had happed to Percy's previous stepfather confused.

**Annabeth managed a weak smile. She'd never met Smelly Gabe, but she'd heard enough stories. She loved Percy for trying to lift her spirits.**

"I swear if kelp head's turned my Annie into a lovey dovey, fluffy mess. I will personally kill him" Thalia threatened

"I'm perfectly fine with him if he makes her happy" Fredrick said, not wanting to admit to himself that he was afraid that his daughter won't ask for his permission or take his opinion due to his lack of participation in her life or simple for the fact that he neglected his duties as a father.

**If she'd fallen into Tartarus by herself, Annabeth thought, she would have been doomed. After all she'd been through beneath Rome, finding the****Athena Parthenos****, this was simply too much. She would've curled up and cried until she became another ghost, melting into the Cocytus.**

"That's why I'm so glad that kelp head is there with her, he'll keep on fighting even if she wants to give up and if he's there she can't give up" Thalia stated

**But she wasn't alone. She had Percy. And that meant she couldn't give up.**

"It's as if Annie heard what Thalia just said" Bobby said

**She forced herself to take stock. Her foot was still wrapped in its makeshift cast of board and Bubble Wrap, still tangled in cobwebs. But when she moved it, it didn't hurt. The ambrosia she'd eaten in the tunnels under Rome must have finally mended her bones. **

"She broke her ankle during the fall" Sally said concerned for Annabeth's safety and health.

**Her backpack was gone—lost during the fall, or maybe washed away in the river. She hated losing Daedalus's laptop, with all its fantastic programs and data, but she had worse problems.**

"Annabeth forget anything you've lost just get out of that hellish place without losing your life" Thalia yelled wishing that she was in place of Percy and Annabeth.

**Her Celestial bronze dagger was missing—the weapon she'd carried since she was seven years old. **

"She had a dagger when she was seven?" Bobby asked

"Mom still doesn't allow us near sharp objects" Matthew continued

"No fair" They said together

But before Helen or any adult could ask them to keep quite Thalia beat them to it "I don't think the both of realize but she used that dagger to defend herself from blood thirsty monsters"

This successfully shut the twins up.

* * *

_**I again apologize for such a short chapter, it's just that schools about to end and everyone's in a rush. **_

_**And I can't thank the awesome Stads02 enough for being amazing and if you haven't checked out her story 'Genius of the Stocks' go and read it right now I promise it's a good read. **_

_**Also the next update will come as soon as I get time to type another chapter out. **_


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